Sunday, 8 December 2013

Book Review: Ruby Heart by Cristelle Comby

Once again The Overnight Bestseller is pleased to host a Tribute Book blog tour. We would like to welcome Cristelle Comby as we look at her new-adult novel Ruby Heart.

Ruby HeartBook Summary:

When elderly client Doris Hargrave
informs private investigator Alexandra Neve that her beloved
antique ruby heart necklace has gone missing for the second time
in a period of over sixty years, Alexandra knows this is no
ordinary jewellery theft. The ruby heart is a family heirloom
and the only thing that connects an ailing Mrs Hargrave to her
parents, who were murdered during the Holocaust.

To solve the case, Alexandra and her business partner, blind
history professor Ashford Egan, must sift through obscure
Holocaust documents to find out the truth. It’s that way that
they learn of a secret World War II-era love affair which could
hold the key to all the answers they are looking for. Meanwhile,
Egan is under immense pressure from the university to quit his
private investigating business, and Alexandra is afraid that a
man she trusts will leave her. Again.

When Alexandra begins to receive anonymous threats and her flat
is vandalised, this all becomes personal. Knowing that
there is someone out there to hurt her, Alexandra vows to find
that elusive ruby heart if it’s the last thing she ever does.

Cristelle Comby was born and raised in
the French-speaking area of Switzerland, in Greater Geneva, where
she still resides. Thanks to her insatiable thirst for American and British action
films and television dramas, her English is fluent. She attributes to her origins her ever-peaceful nature and her
undying love for chocolate. She has a passion for art, which also
includes an interest in drawing and acting.

Ruby Heart is her second new-adult novel, and she’s hard at
work on the next titles in the Neve & Egan series.

Our Review of Ruby Heart:

In Ms. Comby's previous novel, Russian Dolls, Alexandra Neve and Ashford Egan team up to investigate the death of Alexandra's friend. Ruby Heart is the second novel featuring this private investigation team. The two work well together despite their obvious differences in temperament, and are engaging and unique characters. Operating on a shoe-string budget, Neve and Egan have no real office and often meet clients in a local bar. However, they are anxious to establish themselves as professionals and are delighted to tackle the case of a stolen ruby necklace (as opposed to searching for missing dogs).

Comby has drawn a sympathetic portrait of an elderly and gravely ill woman trying desperately to recover her family heirloom. She has also done a very good job of weaving together current events with the back story of World War II and the plunder of valuables from Jewish victims.

This is an interesting and enjoyable novel, and readers will no doubt look forward to the third novel in the Neve-Egan series.